Hello, to all Sailors, Parents, Coaches and Volunteers,
What a wonderful day to be on the water on Sunday. The sun was shining and finally, we had a good breeze to finish the winter series off. We had 11 boats sailing in the senior fleet and 6 in the junior fleet.
Again, the tide was a challenge, with about 1 to 1 ½ knots of flooding current, and some very large wind shifts throughout the two races. The wind range was anywhere from 6-12 knots, which made ideal spring sailing conditions. Bee and Luke were kept busy keeping a close eye on the youngsters as they were making their way around the course , which made another challenging day for the kids who no doubt learnt a few more skills in those conditions. Being such a beautiful day, there was a large fleet of private boats out on the water, with one small runabout managing to steam through out start line right on the gun in the first race. An excellent job done by the RO and his crew on the start boat. It was a little different from the other races in the series, being Starboard roundings, with at least one un-named laser having a little difficulty getting around the windward mark in the first race ( You know who you are.. ? ). There were at least two boat skippers (and crew) that had a swim on the day, and one other that tried taking on the new Mandurah bridge (And Lost!).. That has happened to the best of us (Ex RCD and current RCD tangled up on one of the old channel markers outside where ‘Bar Therapy’ is now!!)
I was astounded by the number of spectators on shore that had their cameras out and taking piccies, no doubt enjoying the spectacle of all the colourful sails and action on the water. It is such a fantastic venue, for us to showcase our club and sailors to the wider community. Hopefully, we can entice a few more sailors to the club to enjoy our wonderful sport.
Once we washed down the boats and showered, Lisa and Jan, had an awesome sausage sizzle on the go for all those that contributed and participated in the Winter Series. A huge thank you to Neil Dixon, who beavered away on a hot keyboard, getting the results for the day and the final results for the season compiled. Also to Trevor Date finalising the race, skipper and crew details on the day. We were able to get the awards underway on time with the sundowner bar almost full of Senior Sailors, Junior Sailors, Coaches, Volunteers and Mum’s & Dad’s. Certainly, from my perspective, it was very warming to see everyone so full of enthusiasm, especially at this end of the season. A big congratulations to all of the place-getter’s for the season. Being a dinghy sailor, I have to mention that the Dinghy group took home the ‘Pacer Cup’ this year, although I am sure that the keelboat sailors will re-group and plot and scheme a challenge for the 2019 Pacer Cup
At the presentations, I made mention and thanked all of you who made our Winter Series a big success for the participants.. Our intention for the juniors this winter, was to build their skills and confidence, which I am confident we achieved. These skills will be built on over this summer season.
I must make a special mention and thank all of the Dinghy Committee members, for their hard work and dedication to making these events happen with the minimum of fuss. Thank you all.
Well, the Summer Season is just around the corner, so keep an eye out in the Breakwater and on the MOFSC Facebook page for the summer training and racing dates. I will also send out another communication soon in relation to these upcoming dates.
Thank you again to everyone.
Kind Regards
Mike Gaebler
Rear Commodore Dinghy
Winter Series 2018 Results
Pacer Cup – Team winners “Dinghy Group”
Junior Championship
- 1st – Kathleen Ryan
- 2nd – Niamh Holloway
- 3rd – Elizabeth Wright
Senior Championship
- 1st – Trevor Date
- 2nd – Mike Gaebler
- 3rd – Paul Rowley
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